Air blower



M. C. WILSON Sept. 16, 1969 AIR BLOWER '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 25.1967 INVENTOR MERLIN c. wnLsow ATTORN Y5 6, 1969 M. c. WILSON 3,467,302

AIR BLOWER Filed May 23. 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I NVENTOR MERLIN C. WLSONA'i'ToRNEYs United States Patent 3,467,302 AIR BLOWER Merlin C. Wilson,Textile Air Company, 6524 Wilkinson Blvd, Charlotte, N.C. 28214 FiledMay 23, 1967, Ser. No. 640,722 Int. Cl. F0411 25/08; D01h 11/00; B05b3/06 US. Cl. 230270 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A blower fordischarging air in a constantly revolving flow path that sweeps cleaningair across machinery, such as knitting machines, to remove lint or otherforeign matter therefrom. This constantly revolving flow path isproduced by providing a blower housing structure that is mounted forfree rotation with respect to the enclosed blower impeller such that thedischarging air imparts a rotation producing reactive torque to thehousing structure, with the structure being arranged, if desired, forselective adjustment to vary the direction of the flow path of thedischarging air and regulate the rotation producing reactive torqueimparted to the housing structure.

Background of the invention The present invention relates to the fieldof air blowers used to clean machinery during Operation thereof bydirecting air thereacross to remove foreign matter and to eliminate thesettling of foreign matter thereon. It is particularly applicable tocleaning of machines in a knitting mill where the surrounding atmosphereincludes large quantities of entrained lint which, if not dealt withproperly, will settle on the machines and yarn, adversely affectingproduction.

Heretofore, foreign matter of this sort has been dealt with primarily byinstalling individual stationary air blowers near each knitting machinefor discharging cleaning air along a fixed flow path directed atselected areas where the accumulation of foreign matter would beparticularly harmful, or by installing movable blowers mounted on acomplex arrangement of elevated tracks for continuous transportationalong a fixed course designed to insure that the traveling blower wouldpass each knitting machine at periodic intervals and cause a stream ofcleaning air to be directed thereagainst. However, the individualstationary blower sutfers the disadvantage of allowing significant andundesirable accumulation of foreign matter at areas outside the directpath of the fixed air stream, particularly those areas immediatelyadjacent the air stream; and the traveling blowers, which continuallypass operative and temporarily inoperative knitting machines alike,direct substantial air currents agains the untensioned yarn reachesextending from the creel mounted yarn packages of temporarilyinoperative knitting machines so as to cause these yarn reaches tobecome stretched or lengthened by partial unwinding of the yarn package,thereby increasing the tendency of the yarn to kink or become fouledwhen the knitting machine becomes operative.

Also, it has been proposed heretofore that cleanertype air blowers bearranged with housing structures that are mechanically rotated by theblower drive motor so as to better distribute the discharge flow fromthe blower; however, these blowers necessarily require additional drivemeans and relatively complex constructions.

Summary of the invention The present invention overcomes theaforementioned drawbacks of the prior art by providing a blower that isextremely simple in construction and operation, and that discharges airalong a constantly revolving flow path that sweeps adjacent knittingmachines with cleaning air, effectively preventing any accumulation oflint or other foreign matter thereat. Moreover, this blower includes asimple mechanical adjustment feature by which the direction of the flowpath, as Well as the rotational speed thereof, may be selectivelychanged to suit the blower for a wide variety of cleaning applications.Finally, the present invention provides a unique control arrangement atthe blower inlet whereby the volume of air pumped by the blower can beeffectively controlled.

Briefly described, the blower of the present invention comprises animpeller rotationally driven by motor means, a housing structure mountedin shrouding relation about the impeller for free rotation with respectthereto and having at least one outlet opening through which air pumpedby the impeller is discharged from the housing structure, and airdirecting means disposed adjacent the outlet opening to direct the airdischarged therefrom along a flow path that imparts a reactive torque tothe freely mounted housing structure for causing rotation thereof. Thisair directing means may be relatively adjustable to vary the directionof the flow path and regulate the reactive torque imparted to thehousing structure. Also, the housing structure may include at its inleta fixed cross-member and a centrally pivoted adjustable crossmember thatcan be selectively pivoted between an inactive position superimposed onthe fixed crossmember and an active position blocking a portion of theinlet opening in the housing structure.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is an elevation view of the airblower of the present invention mounted on the creel posts of a circularknitting machine;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the air blower illustrated in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an elevation view corresponding generally to FIG. 1 but withthe blower housing cut away along line 3-3 in FIG. 2 to illustrate theinterior construction of the air blower.

Description of the preferred embodiment Turning now in detail to theaccompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 illustrates a centrifugal airblower 10 comprising a housing structure 12 mounted in shroudingrelation about an impeller 14 (FIG. 2) fixed on a shaft 16 driven by anelectric motor 18 secured to a support bracket 20 extending betweenadjacent creel posts 22 of a circular knitting machine (not shown) andheld in place thereat by U-bolts 24 so that the blower 10 is locatedadjacent the circular knitting machine to direct a flow of cleaning airthereagainst.

The housing structure 12 is generally cylindrical in shape and includesa circumferentially extending side wall 26 surrounding the outer edgesof radial impeller blades 30 to provide a pumping chamber 28 in whichair pumped centrifugally from impeller blades 30 is collected. The sidewall 26 is formed with a plurality of outlet openings 32 through whichpumped air is discharged from the pumping chamber 28, and the center ofthe bottom wall of housing structure 12 is formed with a dependingannular bearing flange 34 that is rotatably mounted in a ball bearingassembly 36 fixed to the top face of the motor 18 so that the housingstructure 12 is mounted for free rotation independently of the impeller14, the annular bearing flange 34 also providing a convenient opening 38through which shaft 16 extends for driving connection with motor 18 asbest seen in FIG. 3. The top of the housing structure 12 has anin-turned flange 40 on which is fixed a ring member 42 held in place byattaching screws 44 J and defining an inlet opening 46 across whichextends an inlet restricting arrangement 48 which will be described ingreater detail presently.

Attached to the housing structure 12 adjacent each outlet opening 32therein is an air directing conduit 50 which, in the disclosedembodiment of the present invention, comprises a generally cylindricalfirst portion 52 rigidly secured to the circumferential side wall 26 soas to surround the outlet opening 32, and a second portion 54 mountedendwise on the first portion 52 for selective relative rotation aboutthe lengthwise axis thereof and comprising three overlapped truncatedcylindrical sectors 56 (FIG. 3) joined to one another by cooperatingridge and groove connections so as to be individually rotatable aboutthe respective lengthwise axes thereof in the same manner asconventional adjustable stove-pipe elbows, thereby permitting the secondportion 54 to be selectively curved along its lengthwise extent byadjustably rotating one or more of the sectors 56.

The air discharged from the pumping chamber 28 through the outletopenings 32 will be channeled through the air directing conduits 50 anddirected thereby along a flow path such that the discharging air,because of its velocity and directional relation to the housingstructure 12, will impart a reactive torque to the housing structure 12and cause it to rotate in the bearing assembly 36. It is, of course,apparent that the degree of this reactive torque will depend on thedirection of the flow path with relation to the rotational path of thehousing structure 12, a maximum torque being obtained by a flow pathdirected tangentially with respect to the rotational path and a minimumtorque being obtained by a flow path directed parallel or perpendicularto the axis of this rotational path.

While it is within the scope of the present invention to provide thehousing structure 12 with fixed air directing conduits arranged toprovide a preselected fiow path for the exiting air to cause apreselected rotation of the housing structure 12, the air directingconduits 50 in the disclosed embodiment of the present invention areselectively adjustable so that the direction of the flow path of theexiting air may be varied over a substantial range, and it will be notedthat this adjustment may be made either by rotating the entire curvedsecond portion 54 with respect to the first portion 52, or by adjustingthe lengthwise curvature of the second portion 54 by selective rotationof the individual sectors 56. Such adjustments of the air directingconduits 50 permit the reactive torque imparted to the housing structure12 to be regulated while also allowing the direction of the flow path ofthe exiting air to be varied so that it will pass over desired portionsof the knitting machine to be cleaned.

It will be understood that any practical number of air directingconduits could be provided, however, three conduits equally spaced aboutthe housing structure 12 as in the illustrated embodiment has been foundto provide excellent cleaning characteristics. Also, it has beendetermined that conventional stove-pipe elbows are entirely suitable foruse as the second portions 54 of the air directing conduits 50, anddifferent combinations of elbows having standard angles of curvature maybe employed depending on the particular application of the air blower10. For example, the combination of three 60 elbows, or two 45 elbowsand one 90 elbow have been found to provide good results in cleaningcircular knitting machines.

The aforementioned inlet restricting arrangement 48 is composed of arelatively narrow fixed cross-member 58 extending across the center ofthe blower inlet opening 46 and attached endwise to the top ring member42, and a pair of stacked, adjustable cross-members 60 and 60 which havea width corresponding to that of fixed crossmember 58 and which arepivotally connected thereto by a pivot bolt 62 extending through all ofthe cross-members adjacent the center of the inlet opening 46 as bestseen in FIGS. 2 and 3. The pivot bolt 62 allows the adjustablecross-members 60, 60 to be manually pivoted thereabout while at the sametime exerts sufficient pressure to maintain the adjustable cross-members60, 60' at any position to which they are moved. Thus, these adjustablecross-members 60, 60' may be located in an inactive positionsuperimposed on the fixed cross-member 58 (as indicated by the fulllines in FIG. 2) where they do not have any effect on the air beingdrawnthrough the inlet opening 46, or they may be selectively pivotedindividually to an active position (indicated by the dotted lines inFIG. 2) at which they will block a portion of the inlet opening 46 andrestrict the volume of air drawn therethrough; and while two adjustablecross-members are illustrated, the present invention is not limited toany particular member of adjustable cross-members.

The present invention has been described above for purposes ofillustration only and is not intended to be limited by this descriptionor otherwise except as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. An air blower for supplying a flow of air for cleaning machinery,said blower comprising a rotating impeller constructed to pump aircentrifugally therefrom, motor means operativey connected to saidimpeller to impart rotation thereto, a hOtlSing structure disposed inshrouding relation about said impeller to define a pumping chambertherefor and mounted for free rotation independently of said impeller,said housing structure having at least one outlet opening through whichair pumped by said impeller is discharged from said pumping chamber, andsaid housing structure having air directing means disposed adjacent saidoutlet opening to direct the air discharged therethrough along aparticular flow path such that the discharge air imparts a reactivetorque to said freely mounted housing structure to cause rotationthereof and revolution of said flow path, said air directing means beingselectively adjustable for varying the direction of said flow path andfor regulating the rotation of said housing structure by varying thereactive torque imparted thereto.

2. An air blower as defined in claim 1 and further characterized in thatsaid air directing means is selectively adjustable through a range whichallows the direction of said flow path to be varied at least from adirection tangent to the rotational path of said housing structure to adirection parallel to or perpendicular to the axis of said rotationalpath.

3. An air blower as defined in claim 2 and further characterized in thatsaid air directing means comprises conduit means secured at one endthereof adjacent said housing structure outlet opening for lengthwiseextension therefrom and formed to permit selective orientation of thedirection of its lengthwise extent from said housing structure.

4. An air blower as defined in claim 3 and further characterized in thatsaid conduit means includes a generally cylindrical first portionrigidly secured to said housing structure, and a second portion fittedabout said first portion for relative rotation about the lengthwise axisthereof, said second portion being composed of overlapping sectorsarranged to permit said second portion to be selectively curved alongthe lengthwise extent thereof.

5. An air blower as defined in claim 1 and further characterized in thatsaid housing structure includes an end wall disposed adjacent said motormeans and formed with a central opening therein surrounded by adepending annular bearing flange, in that said motor means includes abearing assembly mounted thereon to receive said annular bearing flangefor rotatably supporting said housing structure, and in that said motormeans is operatively connected to said impeller by a drive shaftextending through said central opening in said end wall of the housingstructure.

6. An air blower as defined in claim 1 and further characterized in thatsaid housing structure is provided with an inlet opening, and in thatsaid housing structure includes an inlet opening restricting meanscomprising a relatively narrow fixed cross-member extending across thecenter of said inlet opening and at least one adjustable cross-memberhaving a width corresponding to that of said fixed cross-member andbeing pivotally connected thereto adjacent said inlet opening center sothat said adjustable cross-member can be selectively pivoted between aninactive position superimposed on said fixed cross-member and an activeposition blocking a portion of said inlet opening.

7. An air blower as defined in claim 1 and further characterized in thatsaid impeller includes radial blades for pumping air centrifugallytherefrom, in that said housing structure is generally cylindrical inshape and includes a circumferentially extending side wall surroundingthe radial edges of said impeller blades, and in that said outletopening is formed in said circumferentially extending side wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,341,405 5/1920 Woodard.

6 3,129,767 4/ 1964 McLean 170135.4 1,857,410 5/1932 Smith 153122,184,880 12/1939 Hodge 15-312 2,661,239 12/ 1953 Tirrell. 2,741,9714/1956 Wheller. 2,845,303 7/1958 King 15-312 XR 3,016,559 1/ 1962Holtzclaw 153 12.1

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,057,408 10/1953 France.

267,656 3/ 1927 Great Britain.

824,022 11/ 1959 Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES Advertisementp. 22 of Textile World. July 1955.AdvertisementTraveling Cleaners-Flyer of April 25,

LEONARD H. GERIN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

